ThisproposalseeksfundingtopurchasetheZeissconfocalLSM880microscopewithAiryscanfor theNeuralCellEngineeringandImagingCore(NCEI)oftheRoseFKennedyCenterforIntellectual andDevelopmentalDisabilitiesResearch(IDDR)attheAlbertEinsteinCollegeofMedicine(Einstein). ThisCorehasexistedatEinsteinforover30yearsasasharedresource,andhasreceivedstrong financialsupportoverthistimefromtheKennedyIDDRCenter,fundedbyNIH/NICHDCentergrants, andfromtheDepartmentofNeuroscience.WhiletheNCEICoreisopentoallEinsteinInvestigators, theCore?sconfocalfacilityhasservedasaprimaryandkeyresourceforNeurosciencefacultyand IDDRCenterinvestigators,atightly-knithighly-interactivegroup.TheAiryscantechnologywhich providessuper-resolutioncapabilityhasseveraladvantagesoverothersuper-resolutionapproaches thatmakeitparticularlyidealforthediversityofspecimensandapplicationsofourmulti-usergroup. Someoftheseadvantagesincludenolimitationsposedbyspecialrequirementsforspecimen preparation,fluorophoreselection,mountingmediaorbuffers,andtheabilitytoperformwellwith thickaswellasthinspecimens.Furthermore,thetechnologyfundamentallyutilizesalaserpoint- scanningconfocalapproachbutisabletoflexiblyimproveonsensitivity,speedofacquisitionand/or resolutionwithsignificantlyheightenedsignal-to-noiseratio.Thegroupofinvestigatorsidentified herewilltakeadvantageoftheAiryscancharacteristicsandcapabilities,manyofwhichdealwith thickerspecimensandneedsuperiorresolutioninlookingat,forexample,vesicularorganellesand co-localization,dendriticspines,pre-andpost-synapticsitesandtheirmolecularcomponents,and otherfinestructures.Theseinvestigatorsareinvolvedinbothbasicstudiesofbraindevelopmentand function,andinresearchdirectlytargetedathumanhealthincludingAlzheimerdisease,Huntington disease,schizophrenia,FragileXSyndromeandotherAutismSpectrumdisorders,brainischemia, andlysosomalstoragediseases.Theproposedmicroscopewillprovideauniquenewtechnologyfor Einstein,andserveasavitalassetforEinstein?sbiomedicalresearchcommunityatlargetohelpstay competitiveinthiseraofpowerfulnewopticalimagingapproaches.